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PFC Jack Harvey Krieger

Birth	:	19 Aug 1915 Larned, Pawnee County, Kansas, USA
Death	:	20 Nov 1943 Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, Kiribati
Burial	:	Larned Cemetery, Larned, Pawnee County, USA
Coordinate	:	38.1861000, -99.1333008
Plot	:	SC 248
Inscription	:	JACK HARVE KRIEGER / U. S. M. C. BORN AUG. 19, 1915 / KILLED IN ACTION AT TARAWA / NOV. 20, 1943
Description	:	On May 28, 2018, Marine Corps PFC Jack Harvey Krieger, 28, killed during World War II, was finally laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors. Jack Harvey Krieger was born August the 19th, 1915 in Pawnee County, Kansas to Harvey Lee & Etelka Frances (Reed) Krieger. He later excelled at Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri, and would eventually enlist there in the United States Marine Corps. Private First Class Krieger was assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 18th Marine Regiment (A-1/18) when they landed on Betio as part of Operation: GALVANIC.... Read More	On May 28, 2018, Marine Corps PFC Jack Harvey Krieger, 28, killed during World War II, was finally laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors. Jack Harvey Krieger was born August the 19th, 1915 in Pawnee County, Kansas to Harvey Lee & Etelka Frances (Reed) Krieger. He later excelled at Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri, and would eventually enlist there in the United States Marine Corps. Private First Class Krieger was assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 18th Marine Regiment (A-1/18) when they landed on Betio as part of Operation: GALVANIC. The mission of the 2nd Marine Division was to secure the island in order to control the Japanese airstrip in the Tarawa Atoll; thereby preventing the Japanese Imperial forces from getting closer to the United States, and enabling US forces to get closer to mainland Japan. It would become one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps history. It was November 20, 1943 (D-Day for the "Battle of Tarawa"), when young Jack - just 28 years old - perished. Having a loved one away from home during the holidays is always trying; however, having a son off fighting in the war left the whole family on edge. The fact that this battle took place just before Thanksgiving meant that most of the families, who had unknowingly earned their Gold Star, would receive their heart-wrenching telegrams on Christmas Eve – some Christmas Day or even New Years Day. For his service and sacrifice, Jack's mother accepted the Purple Heart and Presidential Unit Citation. The Battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan. In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio Island, but PFC Krieger’s remains were not recovered. On Oct. 7, 1949, a military review board declared Jack "non-recoverable". Remains that had been recovered were sent to the Schofield Barracks Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii. Remains that could not be identified were subsequently buried as Unknowns in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP, known as "the Punchbowl"), in Honolulu. In 2013, through a partnership with History Flight, Inc., the DPMO's laboratory received remains recovered from a site believed to be Cemetery 25 on Betio Island. In 2015, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of PFC Krieger and put them in contact with the the Marine Corps POW/MIA Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Jack’s family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered Sheila Poole the opportunity to provide the Family Reference DNA Sample ultimately necessary for Jack's identification. On April 3, 2017, the Department of Veterans Affairs disinterred Tarawa X-224 from the "The Punchbowl" and accessioned them to the lab for analysis. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that, on February 1, 2018, Jack had been accounted-for. To identify PFC Krieger’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Mrs Poole's mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Years ago, a memorial marker was placed next to his parents' in hopes that he would one day be found and returned home. Memorial Day 2018, Jack was finally be laid to rest there. Marine Corps Private First Class Jack Harvey Krieger is memorialized among the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific' Honolulu Memorial. Although Jack has now been recovered and identified, his name shall remain permanently inscribed within Court 4 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56113485, a cenotaph). A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate Jack is no longer missing. SOURCE Marine Corps POW/MIA Section DPAA Release No: 18-064 (May 21, 2018) DPAA Recent News & Stories (Feb. 1, 2018) American Battle Monuments Commission Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Note from the memorial maintainer: I am grateful to Chuck Williams & Hattie Johnson (USMC POW/MIA Section), the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab, History Flight, the DVA and the DPAA for their efforts in bringing my Marine home. “It takes a village!”

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is PFC Jack Harvey Krieger's memorial?
PFC Jack Harvey Krieger's memorial is located at: Larned Cemetery, Larned, Pawnee County, USA.
When did PFC Jack Harvey Krieger death?
PFC Jack Harvey Krieger death on 20 Nov 1943 in Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, Kiribati
Where are the coordinates of the PFC Jack Harvey Krieger's memorial?
Latitude: 38.1861000
Longitude: -99.1333008

Family Members:

Parent

Harvey Lee Krieger

(1888 - 1944)

Etelka Frances Reed Krieger

(1885 - 1977)

Siblings

Lee Reed Krieger

(1914 - 1914)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Larned Cemetery
Larned, Pawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 38.1861000, -99.1333008

2. Larned State Hospital Cemetery
Larned, Pawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 38.1722800, -99.1566200

3. Fort Larned Cemetery
Larned, Pawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 38.1839100, -99.2163200

4. Pleasant Valley Cemetery
Larned, Pawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 38.0718994, -99.0955963

5. Ash Valley Cemetery
Pawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 38.2905998, -99.2174988

6. Pawnee Rock State Historic Site
Pawnee Rock, Barton County, USA
Coordinate: 38.2721800, -98.9815300

7. Pawnee Rock Cemetery
Pawnee Rock, Barton County, USA
Coordinate: 38.2771988, -98.9858017

8. Fertig Cemetery
Pawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 38.1458015, -98.9492035

9. Garfield Cemetery
Garfield, Pawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 38.0738983, -99.2667007

10. Bergthal Mennonite Cemetery
Pawnee Rock, Barton County, USA
Coordinate: 38.3053017, -98.9772034

11. Point View Cemetery
Pawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 38.1306000, -98.9131012

12. Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
Radium, Stafford County, USA
Coordinate: 38.2475014, -98.8758011

13. Peace Lutheran Cemetery
Timken, Rush County, USA
Coordinate: 38.3837600, -99.0330750

14. Rozel Cemetery
Rozel, Pawnee County, USA
Coordinate: 38.2042007, -99.4052963

15. Saint Pauls Lutheran Cemetery
Albert, Barton County, USA
Coordinate: 38.3770000, -99.0005900

16. Belpre Cemetery
Belpre, Edwards County, USA
Coordinate: 37.9528950, -99.1017510

17. Dundee Valley Cemetery
Great Bend, Barton County, USA
Coordinate: 38.3125130, -98.8778980

18. Fitch Family Cemetery
Nettleton, Edwards County, USA
Coordinate: 38.0007540, -99.3256550

19. Wayne Cemetery
Lewis, Edwards County, USA
Coordinate: 37.9550018, -99.2144012

20. Patterson Cemetery
Barton County, USA
Coordinate: 38.4019012, -98.9963989

21. Saint Francis Xavier Cemetery
Seward, Stafford County, USA
Coordinate: 38.2038994, -98.8193970

22. Albert Cemetery
Rush County, USA
Coordinate: 38.4213982, -99.0342026

23. Everett Cemetery
Barton County, USA
Coordinate: 38.3767014, -98.9092026

24. Bohemian Cemetery
Timken, Rush County, USA
Coordinate: 38.4441986, -99.1967010